A Long Road Ahead
by Medraut
Summary: Post Trust Metric. David and Colby try to reconcile their relationship after Colby's return. DavidxColby slash. Rating for future chapters, to be safe.
1. Another Difficult Morning

Disclaimer: I obviously do not own NUMB3RS or anything related to it.

The rumbles of engines and the far-off screeches of sirens rattled the silence of David's apartment. He pulled the bed sheets up to his chin and rolled over yet again. His body had long been ready for sleep, worn out from a tough day's work, but his mind was racing. As hard as he tried, he could not banish the thought of Colby from his head long enough to catch a brief moment of rest. When Colby had revealed himself as a spy, when he had been in jail, David had spent hours trying to understand what had happened. He had eventually begun to accept that he had been used and betrayed, and that everything that he and Colby had between them had meant nothing.

But now, though, now that Colby was back and working for their team again, now that he had proven that he was working as a triple agent, David could no longer understand. He wracked his brain trying to find a reason for it all, unsure whether to try to forgive Colby or to blame him.

_Colby may not be a traitor to the country, _David thought, _but that doesn't mean he's not still a traitor to me. What happened to everything we had? Weren't we supposed to have trusted each other, to have loved each other? What happened to that?_

These thoughts bounced around David's head, plaguing him with wakefulness, until slivers of sunlight began to sneak through the slats in the blinds. He kicked aside the tangle of sheets that had wrapped itself around his body as he tossed and turned in the night, and dragged himself to his feet. Robotically, he showered, shaved, dressed, and drove down to the office. He rehearsed in his head everything he wanted to say to Colby, just as he had done every day since his partner had returned to the team.

"How's it going David?" Don asked when David had taken his place at his desk. "You doing all right?"

"I guess," he replied, shrugging.

"All right," said Don. "Just let me know if anything's wrong or if you need anything, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem."

David busied himself with work on one of the day's cases, trying to ward off thoughts of Colby. Just as he was beginning to become wrapped up in his work, he heard the approach of footsteps behind him. There was only one person to whom they could belong.

"Hey, David," came Colby's voice, apprehensively.

Out of the corner of his eye, David could see his partner standing nervously by his shoulder. He merely grunted a response and tried to make himself look busy with the case. Obviously aware of David's attempt to ignore him, Colby resigned to his desk to do his own work. Not a word was said between the two of them. As David attempted to concentrate on his case work, he thought he could sense Colby's gaze on his back. He wrestled with the urge to turn around, to say something. He could not bring himself to do it. Every time he managed to muster up the courage, the words vanished from his mind. He had spent hours and days working through what he would say to his onetime partner and lover. But now he could not call up the words. He was not even sure he wanted to.


	2. Put It In Writing

**A/N:** Like how last chapter was third person but from David's POV, this chapter is similarly third person from Colby's POV, except for a little bit where it switches at the end. Also, I'd just like to mention that yesterday I met Dylan Bruno, who plays Colby (though, if you don't know that, I don't know why you'd be reading NUMB3RS Fanfiction).

**Disclaimer:** I obviously do not own NUMB3RS.

As always in the recent days, the hours ticked sluggishly by, stretching for what seemed like an eternity. Colby could not keep his mind on his work. After a whole day at the computer, he had gotten barely anything done. He knew that he had to make a good impression if he wanted to be accepted back onto the team. He needed to do everything perfectly. It was difficult to do that, though, when all he could think about was David. With David sitting right behind him, faced the other way, he was so close, and yet so far. Colby could not bear it much longer.

"Hey, David, Colby," Don said, standing by their desks at the end of the day. "A few of us are going out to the bar. I think we're going to meet up with Charlie and Amita too. You guys should come."

Both David and Colby hesitated.

"I don't know, Don. I …" said Colby.

"Well," Don said. "I know for a fact that you're not doing anything tonight. And I'm pretty damn sure you aren't either, David. Don't make me force you."

Reluctantly, David and Colby agree. All of them called it quits for the night and went downtown to their usual bar.

"So," Liz said, once they were inside and had met up with Charlie and Amita, "who's staying sober tonight to get us all home?"

"It sure as hell isn't going to be me," Don said.

"I will," said Megan.

"Me too," Amita put in. "I don't really need it tonight."

"All right," Megan quietly muttered to her as they found some seats. "Now the two of us can watch all the boys make fools of themselves."

"Sounds like fun," Amita laughed, unsure if either of them were sarcastic or not.

Colby sat silently while Charlie ordered the first round and the drinks were set in front of them. He slowly nursed his beer as he watched David and Don down one after another. This was usual practice for his boss, but he knew very well that David only got this drunk when he was upset. Colby also knew well that it was his own fault that his partner – well, the man whom he hoped could be his partner again – was devastated. He drained his glass and called for another.

A few drinks later, Colby found that he and David were alone. Don and Liz were off together, and Megan and Amita sat at another table, joking with an almost-sober Charlie. Colby shifted nervously towards David.

"David, I …" he began.

"You what?" David said, his voice thick with drink.

"I dunno … I'm just sorry. I can't take this anymore."

"Well, I can't take it anymore either!" David slammed his drink down on the table to punctuate the statement. "This … all this shit … this can't go on anymore. Maybe we should just pretend it never happened. Just …erase these past however many weeks. Come on. Let's get out of here."

"David," Colby hesitated, burning to say yes, but afraid to hurt him again. "David, you're drunk. I can't do that to you. You wouldn't be saying this if you weren't."

"If I weren't drunk," David leaned in to Colby, "I'd be sulking, brooding, dying to say it and not having the guts."

"Well, this is my prediction: tomorrow you won't remember this and you'll think it was my idea and blame it on me. And that will only make things worse."

"How about this," David said, removing a pen from his jacket pocket. "I'll put it in writing. That way, if I can't remember, it'll be right there and there'll be no question."

"All right. I guess."

On a paper napkin from the table, David wrote in a sloppier, drunken version of his solid all-caps print:

"I, David Sinclair, will not blame Colby Granger."

He signed his name and added the date, after consulting Colby as to what that day's date actually was. He put the pen and paper into his inside jacket pocket with a smirk of authority.

"Happy now?" he asked.

"Yeah, but not as much as I will be when we're gone from here," Colby answered as they both stood up. "We'd better say something to Megan, so she doesn't freak and think we drove off drunk. Just let me do the talking, though. I don't want you to slip and say something – considering your current state – that could make them suspicious."

They approached the table where Megan was sitting with Charlie and Amita, trying to look casual.

"Hey, Megan," Colby attempted to improvise a believable reason for their departure together. "David and I are gonna go and talk, try to sort things out. Okay? But someplace quieter than here. I'm not sure exactly where. If we decide to go beyond walking distance we'll take a cab. I promise."

"Go ahead," Megan said. "But you don't need to act like I'm your mother, you know."

She said goodbye and watched them turn and head for the door, with a smile at the prospect of the two ending the painful silence that had been frozen between them. They had been such a good team and such good friends, before everything happened. To Megan, though, the grin spread across Colby's face and David's hand on his shoulder had an air of something more than reconciliation between friends.

_It can't be,_ Megan thought, denying her initial profiler's intuition. _David and Colby? Together? There's no way. They can't be._


	3. Mutual Desires

**Author's Note and Disclaimer: **All right, here it is. I did it. See, as a lesbian, I don't particularly like writing actual guy sex, even though I like writing slash in general. But in this case, it needed to be done for the plot and stuff. Sigh. Also, in case for some bizarre reason you thought I did, I do not, in fact, own NUMB3RS.

Colby and David each ducked out of the cab in front of Colby's apartment building.

"I'm sorry," Colby said, as they stepped into the elevator. "I wanted to tell you. I really did. I just... didn't know how. You know. I've never been good at talking about things."

"Yeah, I know," David replied. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so..."

Before he was able to finish his thought, he was kissing Colby. His hands went to Colby's waist and he pulled him closer. The sudden _ding_ of the elevator, signaling that they had reached their destination, sent both men jerking back. The doors opened as Colby was adjusting his tie and attempting to compose himself. _Thank God no one was waiting to go downstairs, _Colby thought as they stepped out into the flickering light of the corridor and headed towards his apartment. His hands seemed to be shaking as he fumbled to unlock the door, unsure if he was nervous about being seen or excited after the kiss with David, the first in what seemed like ages. Once safely inside the privacy of his flat, he eased a little, but not much. He still tingled with anxious desire and was gripped by an uncertainty the likes of which he had not felt since he and David had first taken their relationship beyond friendship.

He did not have time to question, though, because in mere moments his mouth was again locked in a passionate kiss with David's. His heart pounded inside his chest. David laid his heavy hands on Colby's shoulders and slid his jacket off to the floor. Along with his jacket fell away Colby's nervousness and anxiety; everything just felt normal and natural again. Time seemed to turn back, before everything fell apart. This, he felt, was what he was supposed to be doing. He touched kisses down in a trail along David's neck to his collar. With his teeth he tugged at David's tie, loosening it until he could toss it aside. The jackets and ties on the floor were soon joined by shirts and shoes. Colby's heartbeat quickened as he felt David's hands on him belt buckle.

"I wanna fuck you," David breathed into Colby's ear.

"Do you?" Colby kissed him roughly on the mouth. "'Cause, you see…" Another kiss. "I want to fuck _you_."

"Well," David replied, whipping Colby's belt out of its loops and casting it aside, "I don't think that matters, babe."

"Oh, really? Why not?" Colby mimicked David, taking off his partner's belt, and swiftly undid the fly of David's trousers.

"Because…" David had Colby's pants off in mere seconds. He smirked triumphantly. "I said it first."

"All right. You get to do it first. But I get to do it harder."

"Sounds like a plan."

Moments later, they were both completely bare. David let himself lean forward into Colby, knocking him back onto the bed. He used only a handful of spittle as lube, so that the short burning fuse of their patience would not run out. Their eyes locked for a moment in silence, before David laid his strong hands on Colby's hips and jerked him over.

Colby winced a little as David began to slowly work his way inside him. He would pay for the inadequate lube job tomorrow, to be sure, but tonight he could revel in the ecstasy of David's body within his own. _And besides, _he thought, between David's moan-inducing, mind-blowing thrusts, _I'll get him good later._


End file.
